The Reason Why Oranges Are One Of The Original Stocking Stuffers

On Christmas morning, many kids can hope to find chocolates, candy canes, and even little gifts inside their stockings. And while the tradition of hiding sweet treats inside stockings hasn't ended, most kids probably wouldn't expect to find an orange inside their holiday socks. But oranges were one of the earliest stocking stuffers. Well before kids could expect to find gift cards, candy, and electronics by the fireplace, oranges were one of the first ways families shared their prosperity on Christmas Day.

The tradition of gifting oranges dates back to the tradition of Santa himself. The legend of Santa Claus was based on Saint Nicholas, the real-life Bishop of Myra, who was born into a wealthy family in the fourth century, according to Why Christmas. While he had plenty of material wealth, Saint Nicholas secretly shared it with the poor and needy. One Christmas, he heard about a poor man who had three daughters but could not afford the three dowries he needed to marry off his children. The Bishop decided to drop bags of gold down the poor man's fireplace, where they happened to land inside stockings hung up to dry. This is what became called the Miracle of the Dowries. To celebrate this miracle, children hang their own stockings above the fireplace, and families place oranges inside the stockings to symbolize the bags of gold that Saint Nicholas gifted that needy family on Christmas Day.

It is also important to note that, in 19th-century Europe, receiving a piece of citrus fruit for Christmas was a great deal more exciting than it might be considered today. Oranges were something of a rare commodity, especially if you were not from a well-to-do family, so discovering one in your stocking on Christmas morning was a special "... luxury for families of modest means who reserved them as a gift for their children," journalist Dominique Foufelle explained, via Smithsonian Magazine.

However, while the story of the Miracle of the Dowries may have kickstarted the practice of giving oranges on Christmas, that is not the only reason hiding oranges in stockings became such a longstanding tradition. The tradition stuck around in America thanks to the marketing efforts of the California Fruit Growers Exchange, which released advertisements promoting their healthy Sunkist oranges. Throughout the Great Depression, oranges remained a rare and special treat, often reserved for occasions like Christmas. But as post-war prosperity and globalization made oranges a cheap and easy fruit to buy all year round, finding an orange in your stocking became much less exciting. However, celebrating Christmas Day with citrus fruit will always have a special place in the holiday tradition.